"This duo has everything to win Olympics next year" - Fans react to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's Indonesia Open win
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted history by winning India's first-ever gold medal in men's doubles at the Indonesia Open.
Rankireddy and Shetty beat Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh 21-17, 21-18 in the final in Jakarta on Sunday, June 18. The win saw them become the first Indian pair to win a Super 1000 badminton title.
Fans were quick to praise the World No. 6 duo for the win, with some claiming that the shuttlers can produce the goods at the 2024 Paris Olympics too.
"Bit early.. they are best hope to bring a GOLD in Paris.. now they shud pick n choose events n fully prepared for GOLD..!!!" - one fan said.
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Bit early.. they are best hope to bring a GOLD in Paris.. now they shud pick n choose events n fully prepared for GOLD..!!!
"This duo has everything to win Olympics next year. The only consistent Indian representation and you can see very clearly how strategically astute their game is. Mathias Boe has much to thank for that. Loved every aspect of today's dominating game! Congratulations!!!" - another fan proclaimed.
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia This duo has everything to win Olympics next year. The only consistent Indian representation and you can see very clearly how strategically astute their game is. Mathias Boe has much to thank for that. Loved every aspect of today's dominating game! Congratulations!!!
Another fan called them GOATs (Greatest Of All Time) and called for a statue to be built in their honour.
"Make a statue of them, Goats," a tweet read.
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Make a statue of them ๐ญ๐ญ
Goats ๐
Here are a few more fan reactions:
๐ฅ
Records are made to be broken! After losing to the Malaysian pair 8 times before, our boys turn the table to bring it home in style! Bravo! twitter.com/BAI_Media/statโฆ
Atleast we getting trophies in different sports ๐ญ๐
Luchas @BCCI twitter.com/BAI_Media/statโฆ
They broke 2 jinx today
First super 1000 world tour title to India
Beat son/chia for 1st time after 8 losses.
@Shettychirag04 kya rush kia h front court pe pure tournament mai.
Proud moment for #indianbadminton
#IndonesiaOpenSuper1000
#IndonesiaOpen2023
@BAI_Media
@satwiksairaj twitter.com/BAI_Media/statโฆ
One of the biggest movement for Indian badminton! #badminton #IndonesiaOpen2023 #satchi #BWF twitter.com/BAI_Media/statโฆ
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Stay blessed team India๐๐๐
Keep shining
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Go India go. Wish the spirit spill over to other sports, and India do well in other sports as well.
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Best of luck with Asian games and the Paris Olympics
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Proud of you guys. You're such an inspiration. โค๏ธ๐ฎ๐ณ
@BAI_Media @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa @sanjay091968 @lakhaniarun1 @satwiksairaj @bwfmedia @INABadminton @JioCinema @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @WeAreTeamIndia @kheloindia Incredible performance!! Let's pray for their consistency throughout the tiring BWF calendar.
โWe stuck to the plan right till the endโ - Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy break losing streak against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooh Yik
Before the 2023 Indonesian Open final, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced Aaron Chia and Soh Wooh Yik eight times on the tour and never managed to eke out a win.
The Indian duo finally broke that losing streak in dominant fashion, defeating the Malaysian world champions in straight games in just 43 minutes.
Speaking after the win, Shetty stated that the key to the win was sticking to the game plan and never giving them a chance to mount a comeback.
โIn the earlier eight matches against them, we would hold ourselves back, but today we stuck to the plan," said Shetty."We felt they are humans, they are players, and they will also make mistakes. We stuck to the plan right till the end and never really gave them a chance to come back." (via BFI)
Chirag Shetty added:
โEven in the second game when they took a couple of points, we were like we donโt have to hold ourselves back and play safe that would have made the game a little slow and they are good at capitalising on. Am really happy and we really needed this win."
Rankireddy echoed Shetty's views and said that they relied on their abilities to come through without panicking.
โI am still happy with the way we played. It felt like a new day, playing new opponents," said Rankireddy. "We were down 8-0 in head-to-head, but I wasnโt thinking much about it. I thought to myself this was a final and both teams were under pressure and if we play good we will win. We were under control when we got a strike in the first game. I said to myself itโs our day donโt panic and just play like any other final."